It's called the Corpse flower because it is propagated by
carrion flies, so it exudes an odor intended to attract them. You may
imagine what it smells like. The scientific name is Amorphophallus
titanum, which means exactly what you think it means. Details about
the plant can be found at the Huntington
Library; the specific page is TitanArum.
They have not only facts, but a good series of pictures, some but not all better than mine, which raises the question of why I bother to put up my
own.

Mostly I've done it because we went out there three times, stood in long lines, and
maybe I can convey a bit of that experience and maybe not. I'm glad I went
instead of merely looking at the web site.

The first thing to note is that this is only the 11th blooming of this
species in the United States, the first in California, and one of the very
few outdoor displays in the western world. The plant isn't all that rare
in Sumatra, but going to Sumatra isn't easy. Among other things, the Malay
pirates are back, and piracy is so series in that area that the US Navy is
putting Marines aboard seemingly unarmed freighters. It's a lot safer to
go to Pasadena (more strictly, san Marino, see below).

Secondly, from our view anyway, what this really did was make us aware
again of the Huntington Library, which is a wonderful resource that we had
nearly forgotten; we hadn't been out there in nearly 20 years, which is
ridiculous. I have had a scholar's access to the Huntington Library, but I
hadn't used it in decades; but given that The Feathersnake Trilogy (or whatever
we decide to call it) takes place in Meso-America with connections
(through Atlantis) to Egypt and the Near East and there are some good
materials relating to that at the Huntington, I'll renew those
credentials. I already joined the Huntington support group, a good
investment: the lines for non-members today were enormous, and I've just
learned (1430 2 August) that they had to close the Huntington because of
the crowds. Apparently there is a maximum capacity...

So: herewith some pictures and impressions. As usual, click on the
picture to get a larger one. Fair warning: some of these images are at
Super High Quality which is 2 megapixels, and will take some time to
download.

We first heard about this on July 26 from Niven's nephews. They planned
to go out the next day, and we thought we'd do that too. We hadn't been to
the Huntington in decades. The Huntington Library was once a private home
in San Marino. San Marino is a wealthy Los Angeles County city, older and
with older money than upstart Beverly Hills. It was largely built by
railroad money. The California Institute of Technology is located in
Pasadena just to the north, but it was financed largely with San Marino
money. There used to be a strict Cal Tech rule: students could cut up all
they wanted in Pasadena, and while there might be civil and criminal
penalties, Cal Tech didn't care; but student pranks (and with Cal Tech
students those can be elaborate, brilliantly conceived, and bizarre) were
strictly forbidden in San Marino. Period. End of discussion. Get caught
out of line in San Marino and you'd be expelled.

Forest Lawn was built in part with San Marino money, and The Founder
(he liked to call himself that) invented a number of orders of merit,
usually having 13 members, 12 of whom would be distinguished scientists
and scholars and the 13th being himself. That's for another time.

The Huntington Library and Gardens is a posh museum, library, gardens,
and all around pleasant place. The most famous painting there is The Blue
Boy but there are many other works almost as well known. It is also a
serious scholarly resource. There's a Gutenberg Bible. While Roberta and I hadn't been there
for decades, last year we did go to the Curator's Home for a party
(courtesy of the opera outfit). That is the
old gatehouse of the mansion, and would itself be considered a mansion in
an upstart place like Beverly Hills.

So we went out on the news that the plant was to bloom on July 28. At
that time not many people had ever heard of it.

First view. Not open. Still pretty amazing.

That's Roberta over on the other side.

Roberta was fascinated by this statue.

As well as by this very powerful pooch

This is the strangest pine tree I have ever seen

It really is a pine tree.

Here it is in all its glory

The Huntington spice gardens. Spices and herbs with magical properties
play a big part in The Burning City, so we found this interesting.

SO: That was the First Day

One of my favorite lines: In Caesar and Cleopatra, Caesar tells young Ptolemy
"Always take a throne when it is offered to you." So I
do.

We went out again Sunday August 1; a Japanese exchange student was
studying for his Novell certificate; he recognized me from Nikkei Byte.
Flattering...

Monday, August 2: the lines literally began in Pasadena and stretched
into San Marino. This is the line after you get inside the library
grounds. Amazing.

Getting closer: we were early, had Member passes to get into the
grounds, and still had half an hour wait to get to this point.

So here it is, more or less opened. I gather it opens further if you
wait, but with those lines you can't. If you want to see it open further,
go to the Huntington site...

From a different angle. The people are as interesting as the plant.

More long lines as we leave.

Roberta, a nice fountain, the Library, and no crowds: this is the way
it usually is at the Huntington when there's no corpse flower in bloom.

The border: we're in San Marino going home. Note that the line reaches
far into Pasadena.